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Muskie soccer duo savours ID camp

Wednesday, 2 July 2014 - 2:20pm

By Joey Payeur

In the state where Badgers and Cheeseheads dominate the landscape, Cam Lidkea and Ian Jodoin got a taste of the college life.
The pair, who played key roles in the Muskie boys’ soccer team’s run to the NorWOSSA championship this spring, took part last week in GT Soccer’s “The Edge” college identification camp for players aged 10-16 at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

“Cam had attended the camp two years ago, and wanted to go again and bring me down with him,” Jodoin said about the camp, which is organized by former U.S. men’s Olympic soccer team member Gregg Thompson.
“It was great to have a friend down there who I knew and could do the partner drills with,” he added.
“No way it would have been much fun without him there.”
More than 200 players participated in the camp, the main purpose of which was to allow youth to develop their skills while giving the assembled college coaches a look-see at possible scholarship candidates down the road.
That’s why it was no small deal when Lidkea and Jodoin were approached by a number of coaches curious about their playing backgrounds and projecting signs of future interest.
“It felt pretty good to have those coaches come up and talk to us,” said Jodoin, who will enter Grade 11 at Fort High this fall.
“They told us to keep up what we were doing and that hopefully we can keep developing our skills.”
Lidkea, who is going into Grade 10 this fall, said the camp got off to quite a hectic start.
“The first day, we played a series of short games so the coaches could see how well we played to determine how they were going to split us into teams for future 5-on-5 tournament games,” explained Lidkea, who notched the game-winning goal in the penalty-kick shootout against the Dryden Eagles in the NorWOSSA final in late May.
“After that, they focused on tactical training and things like footwork while also having the small-sided tournament games,” he noted.
“The tournament game-winners got pizza,” chuckled Lidkea, who also had no doubt about the most valuable advice he took away from the camp.
“I think it was what they told us about tactical play and in-game situations,” he remarked.
“They taught me to be a smarter player, to not always drive the ball but to also concentrate on setting up plays.”
“Being a midfielder, they taught me a lot when it comes to things like touch and passing, and learning about how to see all your options when you’re out there,” noted Jodoin.
“I’ll certainly put to use some of the things I learned there while I play in the [Borderland Soccer League] this summer,” he added.